Local News
UPDATE: Sharon streets make for tight squeeze, potential parking changes
Parked cars create woes, council told
SHARON — Some of Sharon�s streets are so skinny that when people park their cars on both sides snow plows and fire trucks can�t get through.
It�s a daily grumble for some folks, waiting for another vehicle to squeeze through or cursing at the neighbors who park too far from the curb and impede the city�s ability to clear the way.
City Manager Tom Lavorini Thursday suggested council do something to combat the problem and is working on developing an ordinance that will ban parking on one side of some streets or even altogether.
Council members seemed to be all for the idea.
�I don�t think that there should be parking on both sides of the street on any street in Sharon,� said council President Mike Donato, a 26-year veteran of the city�s fire department.
�I agree,� councilman Edward Palanski said.
Donato said he�s been on emergency calls where a fire truck could not make it to its destination due to the congestion.
�At times it�s extremely trying,� he said of navigating the large apparatus through the city.
Lavorini�s noticed the difficulties during his few months on the job and traveling the streets.
And while the proposal may be unpopular for those who would be inconvenienced, the safety concerns likely outweigh that, he said.
Council would encourage input from the public on the issue.
The city manager said he�d been talking with street department head John Cave about the possibility of limiting parking on some streets, at least in the winter season and possibly year round.
Lavorini said he�s talked with members of the fire department, too, and it�d be easier for emergency vehicles if parking was restricted in some places.
There are a number of streets where no parking zones are on the city�s books, but there are no signs up and thus no way to enforce the laws, Lavorini said.
The street department will be remedying that soon by putting up new signs, he said.
Lavorini said he had a list of about a dozen streets for council to consider and most of them have off-street parking for residents. He declined to release the ones he�s thinking of restricting parking on, saying it will be up to council to decide.
He said he�d like to bring a draft to council in April or May to do something about the problem.
Lavorini also brought up the number of abandoned vehicles on city streets and in yards.
He said he�s told police and the code officer that he wants to see at least two vehicles removed each week, though five a week would make him happier.
The junk cars are a nuisance and a hazard to snow removal and public safety, Lavorini said. He noted that he�s seen some with Ohio plates (vehicles don�t have to pass yearly inspection to be on the road in Ohio) ditched on Sharon�s streets.
�I would like to aggressively pursue this,� he said.
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Court nixes ruling man is sexually violent predator
State Superior Court has denied a local judge’s request to issue a precedential opinion in a rape case.
Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge John C. Reed had ruled that Chad S. Thompson, 24, formerly of Stoneboro, is a sexually violent predator, but Superior Court said in a 2-1 decision July 8 that an expert’s testimony was insufficient to back that declaration.
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Stacey wants to continue fight over razed home
Raymond Stacey has requests pending in three courts as he presses his long-running attempt to prosecute the city of Hermitage and those he believes are responsible for illegally demolishing his parents’ house.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, on April 29 quashed an appeal because Stacey did not file his argument brief and appendix of supporting documents.
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Burglars strike while residents sleep
Several Shenango Valley residents’ homes were broken into overnight Tuesday and Wednesday while they slept.
Two burglaries in Sharon involved people entering open windows.
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Commissioners formally move to raise sewer fees
Hermitage commissioners introduced an ordinance Wednesday to increase sanitary user fees.
Residents tapped into the Hermitage Municipal Authority lines now pay $95 a quarter. That rate will bump up to $105 a quarter on Jan. 1, under the proposed rate hike.
Two more hikes on Jan. 1, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2013, will result in the rates increasing 50 percent from the current fee. -
Water is on at Forrest Brooke
Water service has been restored at Forrest Brooke Manufactured Home Community after well problems left the 165-unit complex dry Tuesday.
A boil and conserve water advisory has been issued by the DEP and will remain in place until tests confirm the water is safe to drink, Forrest Brooke’s manager Pete Havens said.
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Storm damages trees, wires
Thunderstorms ripped through parts of Mercer and neighboring counties Wednesday night, downing trees and wires and keeping rescue workers on their toes.
A Mercer County 911 dispatcher shortly after 8 p.m. said they were busy with calls across the northern part of the county. He said there had been a few reports of trees falling on homes.
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City leaders open to talks
Sharon officials aren’t opposed to sitting down with their counterparts in Farrell to revisit the idea of combining the two struggling cities.
“It never costs a penny to talk and there’s no (idea) that’s not worth looking at,” Sharon councilman Ed Palanski said. “I think it would be foolish to oppose looking at the idea.”
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Murphy’s Law doesn’t faze regional planners
A complicated, two-day public meeting blitz in 32 counties ran headlong into Murphy’s Law in Mercer County on Tuesday.
The group Power of 32 are looking to re-write the regional map and create a grand, 15-year strategic economic plan for the 32 counties in four states that make up the Ohio River basin and greater Pittsburgh area.
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Forrest Brooke copes with water outage
Residents of Forrest Brooke Mobile Home Community in Jefferson and Lackawannock Townships woke up Tuesday morning to find they didn’t have any water.
Managers of the park could not be reached for comment, but residents said they were told they won’t get water service back for at least another month.
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City facing bleak financial reality
LaVon Saternow has been Farrell’s city manager since 1992. Shortly after she took the job, Sharon Steel, the city’s economic engine, officially closed down.
Since, the city has struggled to remain solvent and Mrs. Saternow said it is facing its worst financial crisis in her tenure.
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Court nixes ruling man is sexually violent predator
